


Two Truths, One Lie

by danellecarglove (DizzyDC)



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-04
Updated: 2019-06-03
Packaged: 2020-02-23 21:48:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 16,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18710596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DizzyDC/pseuds/danellecarglove
Summary: What would have happened if Betty and Archie's kiss had gone a little - or a lot - further?An exploration.HIATUS.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I just came up with this idea and had to get it out on paper. 
> 
> People who ship certain couples in Riverdale: you've been warned. 
> 
> Tbh I don't even know where I'm going with it yet, at least not exactly. 
> 
> Enjoy!

### CHAPTER 1

    Betty stared at herself in her vanity mirror, her face stony and expressionless. Her red rimmed eyes bore into her soul. She couldn’t even be angry with herself - she was beyond that now. The numbness and apathy had crept in early in the morning, right after she had run out of tears to cry.

    How she could’ve done this to Jughead, to Veronica, to _Archie_ , even, was beyond her comprehension. This wasn’t her. Even though they’d broken up, as had Archie and Veronica, doing this to Jug was unacceptable. She had never been the girl to do stupid, impulsive things, particularly not if those very things would break the spirits of all of the people she loved most.

    It had all happened so fast. She’d been terrified, and so had he. They’d been sitting together in the car, frantic, desperately trying to work out the clues that would lead them to the Black Hood. She’d gotten hung up in the moment, in the comforting way he held her shoulders, in the way he said “I need Betty Cooper.” He was the person she trusted more than anyone else in the world (she would’ve included Jughead on the very short list of people she trusted, but he continuously pushed her away).

    Truthfully, she was terrified. Her sixth sense was telling her that this "thing" with the Black Hood wouldn’t end well, and she was fearful that she’d never see her best friend’s face again. She wanted to show him that she loved him, that he was the best friend she’d ever had, and she wanted him to remember that, if the unthinkable happened.

    She hadn’t been able say it with words; there were too many emotions swirling around in her body. So she kissed him. Even as she did it, she could feel Archie’s surprise and reluctance, could feel his lips pulling gently, apologetically, away from hers. She didn’t intend for it to go any further.

    She began to pull away when Archie suddenly grabbed her face with both hands and kissed her feverishly. Their nerves and fear made the air electric, and before she could register what was happening, Betty found herself peeling Archie’s shirt over his head, Archie’s fingers dancing over her flushed skin under her sweater.

    They’d had sex in the backseat. It was Betty’s first time, in the back of her mother’s station wagon, with a boy she’d had a crush on all her life, but who wasn’t the boy she ended up falling in love with.

    When it was over, there hadn’t been much conversation. Tensions were still high, and they silently made their way back to Betty’s house to look through photo albums. Neither of them mentioned their tryst.

    Later that night, while Betty was throwing dirt on Archie’s casket, held at gunpoint, she was - obviously - terrified, horrified, desperate, and hysterical. She had tried so hard to get the Black Hood to listen to reason, shovelling the tiniest scoops of soil onto the rickety wooden box in an attempt to stall, praying for more time.

    When she heard the sirens and the Black Hood looked away, she swung the shovel with every bit of energy she had left.

    Running after the Black Hood and watching Archie point the gun felt like a dream. It felt unreal, as if she was watching one of those silly horror movies where the teenagers try to take down the serial killer. In that moment, she wasn’t Betty: she was a nameless bystander.

    They went to Pops, as if everything was normal. She could barely look Jughead or Veronica in the eye, but at least she had an excuse. The four of them sat in their booth staring at the table with a heavy tension weighing in the air, caused mostly by the fiasco with the Black Hood - but not entirely.

    Betty didn’t sleep. She had spent the early part of the night racked with sobs about what had happened with the Black Hood, watching Archie willingingly get into a casket to be buried alive, burying her best friend with a gun pointed at her head, and then watching Mr. Svenson get shot. After the shock wore off, she began to sob again as she felt the soreness between her thighs, the proof of what had transpired between her and the boy next door. She was consumed with guilt and regret. For a long, long time, losing her virginity to Archie Andrews was the ultimate dream for Betty Cooper; the irony was not lost on her that now, the very thing she’d always wanted was the thing that made her feel like she was falling apart.

    There was a soft knock on her door as it gently swung open. Alice Cooper stuck her head around the door, meeting Betty’s red and swollen eyes with her own gaze.

    “What are you doing up, Betty?” her mom asked.

    “Getting ready for school, obviously,” Betty replied bluntly, flicking through her makeup bag to make herself look busy.

    Alice’s brow furrowed, “Why?"

    “Because,” Betty said calmly, not in the mood to argue with her mother.

    “Betty…”

    Betty shook her head, “No, Mom, don't even try. I have to go. I have stuff to do at the _Blue & Gold_, I have a lot of studying to do to prepare for midterms, a dance to plan -”

    “ _Betty!_ ” Alice interrupted her daughter’s rambling. “It’s Christmas Eve. You don’t have school today.”

    “Oh,” Betty breathed, staring down at her vanity table. “Right. I guess I forgot.”

    “It’s okay, honey,” Alice replied, studying her daughter for a moment. “I think it’s best that you rest, regardless. It’s been a difficult time.”

    Betty threw her mother a small, forced smile, “Yeah, you’re right, Mom. Maybe I’ll get back in bed for a little while.”

    Alice smiled, “Sure thing, sweetheart. I’ll come check on you later.”

    “Okay. Thanks, Mom.”

    Alice smiled, ran a hand over her daughter’s back lightly, and left, closing the door behind her. Betty’s body slumped forward, an exhaustion that she’d never felt before taking hold of her. She got up and went to lay on her bed, deciding that maybe a nap wasn’t such a bad idea.

    As she stood and turned towards her bed, she looked over to the Andrews’ house, purely out of habit, to see Archie pulling a Bulldogs t-shirt on over his head. He was presumably getting ready for the day, and once his shirt was on, he was staring right at Betty. Unsure of what to do, Betty waved slightly, averting her eyes from his gaze as he waved back hesitantly.

    This was what they had become.

* * *

    The following morning, after a quiet gift opening and breakfast at the Cooper house, Betty put on her sweatpants and hoodie and began to make her way over to Archie’s house for their annual Christmas show-and-tell. She had resolved that no matter what had happened, Archie was still her best friend and special traditions deserved to be kept. She had also somehow convinced herself that it wasn't _that_ bad; she and Archie were technically single now. What did it matter who they slept with? She still felt awkward about it, but she knew that it would be weirder for Fred (and probably Archie) if she didn’t show up.

    She stepped out onto her porch and breathed in the crisp winter air. Walking down the stairs, she was alerted to the sound of a woman’s voice. She looked up, and there was none other than Veronica, kissing Archie under the mistletoe the raven-haired girl had obviously planted there herself.

    “I love you, Ronnie,” Archie said.

    Fuck.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters at once because I had them both written! 
> 
> Will not be the norm.

### CHAPTER 2

    Getting back together with Jughead felt as easy as breathing for Betty. It felt right. She felt whole when she was with him, like the empty, dark parts of her were filled with light just by being in his presence.

    She decided that sleeping with Archie wasn’t going to count for her. She was going to erase the memory and pretend it never happened. If it hadn’t been for the literal dire circumstances and the heartbreak they had both been feeling, it never would have happened.

    So Betty had sex with Jughead and that, she decided, was her first time. It’s what losing her virginity should have been like: relaxed, loving, and with a boy who she knew cared for her so, so deeply, and who she loved right back with all her heart. Relationship wise, things finally seemed to be settling into a groove. Being Jughead’s girl was easy.

    It was almost as easy to pretend nothing had happened with Archie.

    They never talked about what had happened. Every now and then they would exchange the shortest of pointed glances at one another, sharing a look each time that said, “we really should talk about what happened at some point.” But neither of them ever acted on their mutual understanding and so the entire thing seemingly disappeared, like dust swept under a Thornhill rug.

    It was when Betty started getting sick that the trouble started.

    At first, she thought nothing of it. It was a stressful time, and she was still recovering mentally from everything that had happened before Christmas, not to mention the fact that she’d been trying to find her long lost brother. It was understandable that her stress was making her stomach sick.

    It was one evening when Betty reached beneath the bathroom sink to grab a roll of toilet paper that she saw the unopened box of tampons that she’d purchased almost two months ago. She frantically did the math in her head, willing her hands to stop shaking as she counted on her fingers.

    She’d missed her last period, and her next one was supposed to be here very soon.

    Fuck. Fuck. Fuck, fuck, _fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK!_

    A massive lump formed in Betty’s throat as she calmly placed the tampons back under the sink where she’d found them, got up slowly, and made her way down the stairs and out to the Cooper station wagon.

    She drove across Sweetwater River to Greendale, making her way to a small pharmacy on the outskirts of town that she found on Google maps. She picked up a pregnancy test from each brand they carried, figuring that she couldn’t be too sure, and made her way to the gas station bathroom next door.

    Chugging a gatorade, Betty locked herself in the tiny bathroom and took three pregnancy tests. Leg bouncing and nails digging into her palms, she waited painstakingly for the timer on her phone that would tell her it was time to learn her fate.

    When the bells went off, Betty’s ears began to ring and her heart was beating like a freight train.

    She turned over the first test: _Pregnant_.

    She turned over the second test: two pink lines.

    She turned over the third and most expensive of the three: _Pregnant, 3+ weeks._

    Betty leaned back against the bathroom wall, allowing herself to slide down to the floor to prevent falling.

    This couldn’t be happening.

    It couldn’t be.

    It had already happened to Polly. Surely a family with only two daughters couldn’t have both of them being teen moms?

    What in the actual fuck.

    What. The. Fuck.

    It dawned on her then that being the second Cooper disappointment was the least of her worries. She had a much bigger problem on her hands.

    She was having a baby. A baby with two possible dads.

    A slideshow of their faces began to play through Betty’s mind: Jughead, with the smile on his face that he had when he told her he loved her; Veronica, when she declared that Betty was the sister she never had; and Archie, when he passed ninth grade math because of Betty’s help (and cheat sheet).

    Her stomach lurched violently as she heaved the contents of it into the gas station toilet. Crying silent tears, Betty Cooper knew what she had to do.

    She had to leave Riverdale. Tonight.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, still not sure where I'm going with this exactly, but I do have a few ideas. 
> 
> Thanks for the Kudos so far!
> 
> Updates definitely won't be this often, but I had some time on my hands and decided to make the most of it. 
> 
> Enjoy!

### CHAPTER 3

Veronica woke up to a very concerned Hermione shaking her awake.

“Mija, wake up. You have to get up.”

“What is it, Mom?” Veronica sat up quickly at the sound of her mother’s worried voice. It wasn’t like her mom to wake her early on Saturday.

“It’s Alice on the phone. Have you heard from Betty?”

A deep indent formed between Veronica’s eyebrows as she replied, “Not since yesterday at school. Why?”

Hermione looked at her with a grave face, “Alice can’t find her. Betty’s missing.”

Veronica stared at her mother with wide eyes for half a second before leaping out of bed and into action. In a fury, Veronica got dressed and was dialling Archie’s phone number before she even left the room.

“Ronnie,” Archie greeted her.

“Do you know?”

“Yeah. My dad is organizing a search party. I was just about to call you.”

“I’m on my way. Don’t do another single thing until I get there. Do you hear me?”

“Yes, Ronnie,” Archie said, smiling slightly in spite of himself. “I’ll see you soon. Wear sneakers.”

“Will do,” Veronica replied, throwing on her designer running shoes and rushing out of the Pembrooke without so much as a goodbye to her mother and father.

Somewhat of a crowd had already gathered at the Andrews’ house, including Fred, FP, Alice and Hal, Jughead, Toni, Sweet Pea, Fangs, Joaquin, Kevin, Sheriff Keller, and inexplicably, Cheryl Blossom.

Veronica found them all congregated in the livingroom with Fred hunched over a large map of Riverdale and Greendale.

Fred was speaking to the group, “So we’ll split up. FP, Sheriff Keller, Hal, and I will each take a group of you with us to a different area to search. That way we can be more thorough -”

“Wait, wait,” Veronica said, annoyed. “Is it not a little early to be resorting to searching the woods? It’s like we’re assuming she’s dead or something.” She flinched internally at her choice of words but powered through, unwilling to let them see her falter.

Sheriff Keller spoke up, “Well, Veronica, the only thing we have to go on right now is a tip from an employee at the bus station who said she may have seen someone matching Betty’s description at the bus stop last night.”

“Then that’s what we should be pursuing! If she saw Betty, then shouldn’t we be going through, like, bus records and records of payment? It doesn’t make sense to go traipsing through the woods!”

“We’re doing that as well, Veronica,” Sheriff Keller replied. “I’ve got my team on it as we speak. We were thinking about searching the forest areas just in case Betty was out there and got hurt.”

Veronica nodded slowly, “She does have a penchant for playing detective, I guess.”

“This probably sounds stupid, but, has anyone tried calling her recently?” Archie asked the room. “It’s been a few hours, maybe her phone has been turned on since then.”

“We tried,” Hal replied solemnly. “Unfortunately it seems that Betty’s phone line has been disconnected entirely. Not just a dead phone.”

“That knowledge would have been nice to know,” Sheriff Keller said angrily.

“She ran away,” Jughead interjected from his place on the couch. “That’s the only possible explanation. She would have had to cancel the phone contract herself, unless Alice or Hal did it. Which seems unlikely. So she ran away. She left.” With that, Jughead got up and walked straight out the front door.

 “Jug, wait!” Archie called, running out the door after his friend. Veronica looked on as she watched her boyfriend trying to console his best friend. 

  
“This is a nightmare,” Kevin said with a sigh, appearing next to Veronica out of nowhere.

“I know,” she replied. “I’m freaking out, honestly.”

“Me too,” he replied. “I know it looks like she probably ran away but I’m secretly hoping she’s out in the forest with a twisted ankle. Cause I can’t imagine her not at least calling if she were running away. Is that messed up?”

Veronica shook her head, “No, I don’t think so. I feel weirdly betrayed, too. Poor Jughead.”

“Poor all of us,” Kevin said.

Kevin’s phone began to ring, a number that neither he nor Veronica recognized.

“It’s probably a telemarketer. I’ll be right back.”

“Sure thing, Kev,” Veronica replied mindlessly, her attention being pulled back to the arguing adults in the room.

Hal and Sheriff Keller were arguing about the Coopers withholding pertinent information. Fred, ever the diplomat, was attempting to mediate the conversation while Alice was crying with her head in her hands.

It broke Veronica’s heart. She didn’t know what to do, which stung even worse when she realized that the one person who would know what to do was Betty.

“Where on God’s green earth could you be, Betty Cooper?” Veronica muttered to herself. She glanced out the living room window to see Jughead and Archie in a shouting match on the sidewalk. She couldn’t pick out what they were saying, but it obviously wasn’t good.

This was complete and utter chaos. A knot of true worry was beginning to form in the middle of Veronica’s chest. What if Betty hadn’t run away? What if she had been kidnapped, or killed, or eaten by a bear?

It sounded ridiculous, but was it, really? Betty continuously found herself in impossible situations that only Betty could get into. Maybe this time Nancy Drew had gone too far.

What if this sudden disappearance had something to do with that long lost brother? What if Betty had gotten in with the wrong crowd and gotten herself hurt? The realization hit Veronica like a freight train. Something was horribly, horribly wrong.

She lunged off her seat to interrupt the adults with this new found revelation when she felt a hand on her arm. Whipping around, Veronica found herself face to face with a bone-white Kevin.

“What? What is it, Kev?”

Kevin swallowed audibly, “That wasn’t a telemarketer on the phone, V.”

“What do you mean?”

“I didn’t recognize the number because the call came from a payphone.”

Veronica’s heart sunk, “Wait, you don’t mean…”

“It was Betty,” he affirmed in a whisper. “She said said to send her love, but not to give any more detail than that.

She’s gone. Gone for good.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you do when you have a six hour layover in an airport? You write fan fiction, of course! 
> 
> This chapter has a bit of a cheesy time jump. It just had to be done for the sake of moving the story forward. Sorry. 
> 
> Also, I just want to put out a disclaimer that I know NOTHING about Mississippi or any state, for that matter. I'm Canadian. I did minimal research to choose the location and made up a LOT so please don't be too critical and if you're from the town I included, I'm sorry for what I got wrong!

### CHAPTER 4

_7 months later_

When Betty had left Riverdale, she’d gotten on the first bus headed out of state and hadn’t looked back, despite having no idea where she was going or where she even wanted to go. 

Thirty-six hours, driving in circles, and one shitty motel later, Betty found herself getting off the bus at a gas station in Big Point, Mississippi. Population: 611. 

She had been getting off of busses and buying new tickets for new trips, in cash, for three days. She didn’t know where she should go, so, being the logical and practical person she was, she decided to choose a location based on three factors: how far away it was from Riverdale, how likely it would be for someone to look for her there, and how affordable it was to raise a baby. 

She’d contemplated abortion. She knew that, given the circumstances, it probably made the most sense, what with her being a highschool student with two possible “baby daddies.” That wasn’t even considering the fact that her slightly older sister was already a teen mom. It didn’t make sense for Betty to go through with this pregnancy, so her decision was simple: leave town for a while, make up some excuse, get an abortion out of state, and then go home. 

She had been sitting on the first bus when she found herself with her hand resting lightly on her stomach. She caught herself off guard with the subconscious action, and found herself lightly pressing on her belly, only to feel it firm and, well, _hard_ in a way that it hadn’t been before. Obviously Betty had had a certain amount of muscle mass - it was hard to be a cheerleader without developing some muscle - but this was different. Her belly was flat, but the softness had vanished. There was a person in there. _Her_ little person. She would never judge a woman who decided to terminate, but in that moment, Betty knew that she couldn’t possibly end it. 

So on the second bus, from Philadelphia to Nashville, Betty changed her plan. She decided that she’d incubate this little bean for the nine months, then give him or her up for adoption so that they could have the life they deserved, hopefully with a mom and/or dad who loved them and could _afford_ them. Then, after it was over, she could make her way back to Riverdale. If she couldn’t make up a convincing story, she would tell them about the baby but lie and say that the father was someone from Greendale. They’d be furious, of course, but her secret would still be safe. No one would ever have to know the truth and her baby would be safe and loved. 

Being on a bus for hours on end really gave a girl time to think. By the time she reached the bus stop just outside of Nashville, Betty was fretting about her newest decision. Could she go through life just like _Alice Cooper_? Could she give birth to a person who was half her and half of either her best friend or her ex-boyfriend, never tell either of them about it, and then leave the baby behind? She respected those who chose that option, but knowing what she knew about her mother, she resolved that she couldn’t harbour a secret that massive and go home to Riverdale like nothing had happened. She couldn’t pretend like this wasn't her life, like her baby wasn’t real. Even if she gave the child up for adoption, she would want to remember. And it would break her heart. 

She spent the night in a shitty, rundown motel just a mile or so down the road from the bus stop, trying desperately to get some rest but her mind just ran in circles, weighing her options and waging war with itself. Betty had a very, _very_ strong moral compass, something that had always gotten her in trouble, and this time was no exception. By the time dawn broke, Betty had made her final decision: she was going to keep her baby, raise it to the best of her ability, and never, ever leave it behind. 

She spent the morning doing research, finding out where the labour market was decent, where rent was cheap, and where she could get an apartment and a job (or two) without anyone asking questions. 

She finally decided on Big Point, Mississippi, a living, breathing oxymoron. 

She found a quarter in her bag when she got off the bus and walked over to what was probably the only payphone in the entire town of Big Point. Picking up the handle, she drew a deep, deep breath, and methodically dialled the only number it made sense to call. 

“Hello, Kevin Keller speaking,” Kevin said formally as he answered the phone. Betty grinned into the receiver in spite of herself; her friend was just so damn cute. 

“Hey, Kev, it’s me,” Betty said, biting the side of her lip. 

“BETTY!” Kevin exclaimed. 

“Shhhh, Kev, keep your voice down,” Betty scolded. “Yes, it’s me, but listen: I need to you to listen to me, okay?”

“Betty, where the HELL are you? What’s been going on? Do you have ANY idea how worried everyone is?! I mean I’ve never…”

“ _Kev_!” Betty said sharply. “I know you’re probably angry, but I need you to listen to me. Okay?”

Kevin huffed in frustration, “Okay. Fine. What is it, Betty?”

Betty took another deep breath, “I’m okay. And I want you to tell everyone I’m okay. But I won’t tell you where I am. I’m not coming home.”

The phone went silent for what felt like an eternity. 

“Um, excuse me? Could you repeat that? I’m not sure I heard you correctly.”

“I said I’m not coming home, Kev. I can’t. I have to stay away.”

“Betty, you can’t be seri-”

“I’m dead serious, Kevin. Could not be more serious. I didn’t call to argue. I just wanted you to know I’m alive.”

“Betty, come on,” Kevin began. 

“Kevin, you honestly have no idea. Okay? You have no idea what I’ve discovered, what I’ve done, how many people I’ve hurt. I need to stay away. And nothing you could say is going to change that. Please just...tell everyone I love them. I’ll call when I can.”

“Betty, wait, just keep talking for a minute, maybe we can figure this out -”

“My decision has been made. I’m safe, and this is for the best. Okay? Tell everyone. I love you, Kev. Talk soon, I hope.” 

And with that, Betty hung up the phone. 

She held back her sobs until she could find another shitty motel to sleep in, and when she finally laid down on the rough, scratchy fabric of the motel comforter, she sobbed so hard she made herself throw up. She cleaned herself up, got a quick shower with the motel toiletries, and got in the bed, crying the entire time. 

The only benefit of all her sobbing was that she exhausted herself to the point where sleep was inevitable. 

The next day, Betty went out, a woman on a mission. She had a flash drive with her resume on it, so she went to the local library (which was one room and in the same building as a hair salon) to print off multiple copies. She searched the job boards diligently, both online and in person, and by the end of the day she was sitting on a shitty mattress in a one bedroom apartment above a diner that reminded her painfully of Pop’s Chock’lit Shoppe, with an apron hung on a hook in the bathroom. 

A small part of her was extremely satisfied with herself; even when her world was falling apart, Betty Cooper was a force to be reckoned with. 

She quickly made friends with the other waitresses at the diner. They’d even taken to calling her “Miss Betty.” Sometimes it was “Miss Blondie.” Other times it was simply “Sugar.” She didn’t mind any of their nicknames. In a strange sort of way, it helped her feel more at home. 

Minutes, hours, and days passed. Days became weeks and weeks rolled into months. Betty marveled at how her belly grew, how she could feel the little life rolling around inside her. It was pure magic. Sometimes she felt strange and ashamed of being another teen pregnancy statistic, but she almost always found support - and not shame - from the people in her little community. 

And so it went. Bertha, one of the older ladies who worked at the diner, had taken to giving Betty home remedy advice when the going got tough. She taught Betty how to make ginger tea to soothe her stomach, and how to suck on a peppermint candy when she couldn’t make any tea. Bertha also privately organized a “baby drive,” collecting many secondhand items that Betty needed for the baby, wildly reducing Betty’s personal cost. Betty being Betty, she didn’t feel like she could take the gifts, but Bertha insisted; she’d been a teen mom once. The older woman had declared that it was time to pay it forward. 

Betty had even made friends her own age. Madison and Mary-Anne were close to her in age, and they quickly became people Betty could be friendly with. They, too, had nothing but kindness for Betty, reminding her that lots of young people had babies in their neck of the woods. Maybe they weren’t all as young as Betty, but it wasn’t so much different than what they were used to. 

Betty called Kevin every couple of months, to let him know she was still alive and well. She always kept the conversations short, not willing to hear her friend’s pleas for her to come home. It sustained her, though, in a strange way. She couldn’t be home with the people she loved, but at least she found a way to let them know she was fine. 

The more time that passed, the less Betty thought about her predicament. “Out of sight, out of mind” became her reality. In the beginning, any little thing that brought her attention back to her pregnancy filled her head with heartbreaking images of her parents, of Veronica, of Archie and of Jughead, but after some time, Betty’s thoughts about her unborn baby were filled purely with love, adoration, and wonderment. It was a welcome change. 

It wasn’t that she was “happy,” but more that she made her peace with her decision, which became easier and easier as her baby became more and more real. 

By the time Betty’s due date rolled around, nesting and prepping for a very brief maternity leave were the only things Betty could think about. She had no time to ponder the drama of Riverdale, because her entire universe was shifting - including her priorities. 

When she had left home, a pregnant teenage runaway, Betty had assumed that her life from this point on would be devastatingly lonely. She had made the decision to keep her baby knowing full well that she would have to go it alone. 

It was surprising to her, then, when her water broke on the diner floor and Bertha rushed her out into the backseat of her rickety Oldsmobile. Madison and Maryanne took control of the restaurant and Bertha stayed with Betty the entire time, filling the roll she once imagined might have belonged to her husband or to her own mom. 

The older woman never left her side. Betty laboured for 12 hours, suffering the entire time and wondering to herself between contractions how she could ever have thought she could do this part alone. 

When the time came for Betty to push, Bertha went to leave the room, but Betty grabbed her hand and squeezed, wordlessly asking her to stay and thanking her for being her stand-in mother. 

By the end of pushing, Betty thought she might literally be dying. She couldn’t do it anymore. Somehow, though, she kept going, though she felt she might never feel normal again. 

The doctors coached her, and with one final push, Betty’s baby was born. She could hear its cry before she saw it, her eyes blurry from exhaustion. 

“It’s a boy,” she heard someone say as they placed the screaming infant on her chest. Holding her son for the first time, all Betty could think about was how she had never seen any creature so beautiful in all her life. 

Her baby was all limbs, covered in gunk, and had a purple face from crying. 

He also had the sweetest little fingers, a beautiful Cooper nose, and head full of fine, wispy, bright red hair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I mean, you had to know it was coming.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These chapters are pretty impulsive. I'm never quite sure where I'm going with them, so if there are any inconsistencies, be patient as I go over them and adjust!

### CHAPTER 5

Raising baby Oliver was a _lot_ harder than Betty expected it to be, and she had always been aware that it wouldn’t be easy. 

Even with the sleepless nights, the innumerable tears (from both her and Ollie), and the countless calls to Bertha for advice, the first few months of Oliver’s life were the best of Betty’s life. 

She had underestimated what it meant to be someone’s mother, as well as her own maternal instincts. It was hard - _so_ hard - but it also felt incredibly natural. Sometimes she needed advice, but other times, she just knew what her boy needed. It wasn’t always like that, but a lot of the time, Betty’s instincts taught her how to do her new job. 

She went back to work quite soon after giving birth, but it was mostly because she could bring Ollie downstairs and put him in the office, check on him whenever she wanted/needed, and was given the flexibility to work shorter shifts. The girls also pooled half of their tips to help her out for the first few months as she adjusted. She was incredibly grateful for her new friends and their generosity, and privately she was grateful that having them lessened the sting of losing her old ones. 

On the days when Betty just couldn’t work, someone would always come visit. Madison and Mary-Anne took turns. Sometimes they came together, but at least one of them would show up on a break or after work every day. 

Madison was gentle, kind, and sweet. She was so good with Oliver; it warmed Betty’s heart to see her friend with her baby boy. Betty often told Madison that she was going to make a great mom someday. Madison would always grin at her and say, “I hope so, someday.” 

Mary-Anne, on the other hand, was...something else. She certainly wasn’t unkind, but her demeanour was so different from Madison’s that sometimes Betty felt her head was spinning at the contrast between them. 

She was “good as gold,” as the older women would say, but where Madison was gentle and demure, Mary-Anne was spunky, blunt, and rambunctious. She was supportive, though, in her own unique way. Betty often thought to herself that if, in some alternate universe, Kevin Keller and Veronica Lodge were to have a baby, the result would likely be a carbon copy of Mary-Anne. 

An abrupt knock on her apartment door told Betty that it was the Queen of Big Point herself who was coming to visit today. She looked up from her spot on her second-hand sofa to see Mary-Anne tiptoeing around the corner. Betty had to cover her mouth to keep herself from bursting out laughing; she looked almost like a cartoon character, like Sylvester the cat trying to sneak up on Tweety Bird. 

“What are you laughing at?” the older girl whisper-drawled. 

“You,” Betty said, chuckling quietly. 

Mary-Anne shot her an unimpressed look, “I was trying to be considerate and not wake your baby, thank you very much.” 

Betty smiled at her friend, “I know. That’s why it was extra funny.”

Mary-Anne rolled her eyes, but Betty could see the smirk on the corner of the girl’s mouth. She was forgiven. 

“How’s it going down there?” Betty asked as she folded towels. 

“Slow today, believe it or not,” Mary-Anne said, helping herself to the leftover coffee Betty had brewed that morning. “Haven’t even heard from Jerry yet today.” 

Betty raised her eyebrows in surprise, “Really? That’s strange. Is he okay, you think?” Her mind started to wander, thinking of her favourite regular customer and all of the things that could have happened to him. Jerry was a sweet old man who came in every afternoon for a cup of coffee and a piece of pie, and if not pie, then an apple turnover. He would sit at ‘Jerry’s Booth’ on the far side of the diner and read the paper while he enjoyed his snack. He had taken a special interest in Oliver, even getting his daughter to make the boy a baby blanket with the Big Point flag on it - “so he’d always remember where he got his start,” Jerry had said. 

“I think he’s fine,” Mary-Anne replied as she stirred her coffee. “Gert told me his granddaughter came to town to visit, so he’s probably with her.” 

“Ah, I see,” Betty replied as she moved from folding towels to onsies. 

“I did get an interesting phone call, though, right before lunch,” Mary-Anne said as she leaned on the counter, taking a loud slurp of her coffee. 

“Oh?” Betty said. “Do tell.” A smirk crept over Betty’s face as she imagined which boy from the next county was fawning over her friend this time. 

“Yeah, it was someone looking for you.”

Betty’s heart stopped in her chest. She froze, her mouth suddenly as dry as sandpaper. 

“What do you mean?” she choked out, eyes wide with fear. 

“Someone called the diner for you. A guy. Asked if you were working today.”

Betty’s eyes grew wider, “Did he say what his name was?”

“Kenneth? Kendrick? Ummm...no, Kevin! That was his name. Kevin. The one you call sometimes.”

Betty was sure that Mary-Anne could hear her heart pounding in her chest even across the room. What. The. Fuck. Was. Going. On. 

“Did he say anything else?” Betty said, swallowing hard. 

“Well, he asked me which casinos in Biloxi would let him in underage,” she chuckled to herself. “And then he asked if you were taking visitors.” 

“What did you say?” Betty replied shakily, trying desperately to keep it together. 

“I told him I didn’t know but that you’re always here.”

Betty’s ears began to ring, an uncomfortable tingling feeling cascading up from her fingers into her arms. She struggled for air, fighting the impulse to grab Oliver out of his bassinet and just run, run so far that Kevin could never know where to look next. 

“Oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god,” Betty said, standing up to pace the floor of her tiny living room. “What the HELL, Mary-Anne? Why would you tell him that?!”

Mary-Anne looked shocked, “What? What did I do? He’s the one you call from time to time, is he not?”

“He is!” Betty cried. “Well, he was. But I haven’t seen him in forever and he’s a part of my past and he _doesn’t know about Oliver_.” 

“Is he your baby daddy or something?” 

Betty glared at Mary-Anne, “No, he’s not. And thanks so much for your sympathy.” 

“Right. Sorry,” she replied, setting her mug on the counter. “I guess I just don’t see what the big deal is. If he’s not your baby daddy, and he’s not some crazy ex-boyfriend, then why the freak out?”

“ _Because_ , Mary-Anne,” Betty replied with frustration, holding her head in her hands. “When I left home, I didn’t tell a soul until I got here. I didn’t tell anyone why I left, I didn’t tell them where I was going, and I certainly didn’t tell them I was pregnant. I only call every so often to tell Kevin I’m still alive so he’ll tell my family. I thought I was safe here, hidden.” She sat back down on the couch, sobs overtaking her. 

“Oh, shit, Betts, I’m so sorry,” Mary-Anne said, joining her friend on the sofa. “I had no idea. I would never have said anything if I had known. I just knew that you mentioned talking to him so I thought it would be fine. I’m really, really sorry.” 

“I wish I could say it was okay,” Betty said through her tears. “It’s not your fault, Mer, but I don’t know what to do now.”

“Hey, don’t worry about it. I’ll go down and wait for him, do some damage control. Does that sound okay?” 

“You can try,” Betty said, her voice barely more than a whisper. 

“Okay, then that’s what I’ll do,” Mary-Anne said as she began gathering her things.

Oliver began to cry, and Betty jumped at the opportunity to leave the room. She scooped up her son and held him close to her chest, walking back out into the living room in an attempt to soothe both the baby and herself. 

“Mer, I’m sorry,” Betty said as she walked back towards her friend. “I took it out on you, but it’s really not your fault.” 

“I don’t think I’d forgive me just yet, if I were you,” Mary-Anne said, her eyes stuck in the direction of the front door. 

Following her gaze, Betty’s jaw hit the floor. It took an immense amount of strength to keep a tight hold on the infant in her arms. 

An equally shocked face was staring back at her. 

“Ho-ly shit,” said Kevin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew, that was a wild ride to write! 
> 
> I LOVE Mary-Anne's character, I have to admit. 
> 
> Opinions wanted: what do we think about an eventual Mary-Anne/Sweet Pea background pairing? Yay? Nay? Let me know what you think!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heavyyyyyyy on the dialogue. The whole chapter is a basically just a conversation, FYI.
> 
> Happy reading!

### CHAPTER 6

“Oh my god,” Kevin said, eyes darting from Betty to the baby to Mary-Anne. 

“Hey, Kev,” Betty said cautiously. 

“I think I’ll be going,” Mary-Anne said, darting to the side of Kevin toward the door. 

“Mary-Anne, wait -” 

“No, Betts, I think you and Kevin need to have a chat.” 

Betty watched Mary-Anne leave and was left face to face with Kevin as the door shut behind her. 

Kevin’s expression didn’t change. He continued to stare at Betty, jaw slack, eyes wide. 

“Hey, Kev,” Betty tried again. She figured she had to start somewhere. 

Kevin swallowed audibly, “uh, hey, Betty.”

“Do you want to come sit down?”

Kevin nodded, “Yeah, that would be good. I think...we have some catching up to do.”

“Okay, let me just go put him down. Help yourself to a drink, if you’d like,” she replied hastily. It was strange, being so formal with Kevin, but Betty was at a complete loss. She’d never had to reveal her secret son to her best friend before. 

After putting Oliver back in his crib, Betty smoothed out an invisible wrinkle on her shirt and made her way slowly back to the living room. 

“So…” she began, sitting on the far end of the couch, knees turned slightly toward Kevin. 

“So,” Kevin replied. He still looked like he had seen a ghost. 

“I guess you probably have some questions.” 

Kevin looked at her incredulously, “Yeah, a few.”

“Where would you like to start?” 

“Maybe we’ll start with the infant-sized elephant in the room,” Kevin said with his signature sass. “The kid - yours?”

“Yes,” Betty nodded. “He’s mine.”

“And he’s how old?”

“About two and half months, give or take a couple of days.”

“Right. So I’m safe in assuming that he’s the reason you left Riverdale?”

“He is,” Betty replied calmly, approaching this conversation with her friend as if he was a wounded animal. Kevin looked like mind was reeling; the least Betty could do was try to make it a little bit easier for him. 

“And, judging by our Mini Cooper’s hair colour, I’m assuming the Serpent King is not his father.” 

“Well, I haven’t done any tests or anything, so I can’t know for sure…” Betty looked sideways at Kevin, to which Kevin responded with a pointed ‘come _on_ Elizabeth’ look. “But no. He’s not.”

Kevin let out a woosh of air as he leaned backward onto the sofa. He was staring at nothing, very obviously trying to process this new information. 

“You weren’t kidding when you said that the reason you left was major.”

“I told you so,” Betty said with a sad smile. 

“So if it’s not Jughead’s baby, then who’s is it?” Kevin stared at her with eyes so wide Betty thought they might pop out of his skull. 

“Well, firstly, his name is Oliver,” Betty replied, taking a deep breath before she made her second big reveal. “And there are only two options when it comes to who his dad could be. If it’s not Jughead, then by process of elimination, his father has to be Archie.” 

Kevin looked like he was about to pass out. 

“WHAT?” 

“Don’t get mad, Kev, please,” Betty pleaded. “This is why I kept it a secret…”

“Archie ANDREWS?”

“Yes, but Kevin, please - ”

Kevin sighed, “I’m not mad, Betty, I’m just...surprised. Shocked. Flabbergasted, even. I just...did not see this coming. At all.”

“Me either,” Betty said quietly. 

“Did you cheat on Jughead?” 

“No,” Betty said quickly. “At least, not technically. Jughead and I had just broken up - for the second time. It was the night that Mr. Svenson got shot. Archie and I slept together right before all of that went down.”

Kevin stared up at the ceiling, doing calculations in his head, “Wait, so if that was before Christmas, then that would mean…”

“Yeah. Archie was my first.”

“Holy ever-loving Christ,” Kevin said. 

“I know, it’s a lot to take in,” Betty said. 

“That’s one way to put it.” 

A heavy silence fell over them then, neither really knowing what to say next. Betty was taken aback by the fact that Kevin seemed mad at her, though she knew logically that he probably felt abandoned and was projecting that hurt into anger. 

It still felt shitty, though. 

“I had no idea where it came from, you know. And no one else did either,” Kevin said quietly, breaking the silence. “We were so scared for you, Betty.”

“I’m sorry,” Betty whispered, tears welling up in her eyes. “I didn’t mean to hurt anyone. I just didn’t know what to do.” She wiped viciously at her cheeks as the tears began to roll down her face in earnest. 

Kevin leaned over and took her in his arms, nestling her head under his chin. Betty couldn’t hold it in any longer, sobs leaving her body as she wrapped her arms around her best friend. 

“I’m so, so, so sorry, Kev,” she choked out. 

“Shhh, hey, it’s okay. I know. I get it now,” he replied, wiping a few of his own tears away. 

“It was so scary, and I felt so guilty, I thought it would be easier for everyone if they just...didn’t know.” 

“I can understand that,” Kevin replied, pulling back to look at her face. “But you have to know how much we all love you. We could have figured this out.”

“Could we though, Kev? This didn’t really feel like something I could fix with a round of milkshakes and a plate of chili fries.” 

Kevin sighed, “I know, Betty. It’s a big deal. I just wish you would have told me.”

“I wish that sometimes, too,” Betty admitted. “It crosses my mind every now and then, what would have happened if I’d stayed.”

“Your mom probably would have shipped you off to the Sisters of Quiet Mercy,” Kevin replied with a grimace. 

Betty nodded, “That’s part of why I left. I didn’t want to deal with being the second Cooper teen mom in Riverdale.”

“It also complicated matters that you had no idea who knocked you up.”

Betty rolled her eyes, “Thank you for that tactful response, Kevin.”

“What? It’s not like you don’t know how babies are made, Elizabeth.” 

Betty tried really hard not to laugh, but she couldn’t help herself. She had missed this so very much. 

“Speaking of babies…” Betty began. “We still have a lot to talk about - including how you knew where to find me - but, would you like to meet Oliver for real? I’m sure he’d love to meet his Uncle Kevin.”

Kevin’s face broke into a brilliant smile, “I would love to.”

Betty returned his grin, “I’ll be right back.”

She walked into the bedroom and scooped Oliver up gently into her arms, without waking him. Sometimes Betty had trouble putting the little one to sleep, but once he fell asleep, he was normally out cold for hours. He was a good sleeper, at least in that way. Betty smiled to herself as she remembered sleepovers with Archie as little kids, how she would have to smack him with pillows to get him to wake up. 

“Here you go, Ollie,” Betty said, placing him carefully into Kevin’s arms. “This is your Uncle Kevin.”

“Hey little man,” Kevin said, his eyes full of wonder. He ran a knuckle gently over Oliver’s cheek, nothing but love on his face. 

“He’s beautiful, Betty,” Kevin said with tears in his eyes again. “Truly.” 

“I know,” Betty said lovingly. “He’s perfect.”

“I hate to say it, but...he looks a lot like Archie.” 

Betty sighed, “I know. The red hair, for starters, but even the shape of his face. It’s made forgetting about everything pretty difficult.”

“I don’t know if you’d want to forget about it. Would you?”

“No, I guess I wouldn’t.” 

They sat in a comfortable silence, Kevin completely enthralled with his ‘nephew’ and Betty’s heart overflowing at the sight. It was easy to pretend she didn’t miss her friends and family when they were nothing but a memory, but with Kevin here in front of her, holding her son, she realized how much she was missing. 

“Are you ever going to tell him?” Kevin asked. 

“Who, Archie?”

“No, Barack Obama,” Kevin rolled his eyes sarcastically. “ _Yes_ , Archie.”

“I don’t know,” Betty replied honestly. “I’ve thought about it, obviously. Part of me thinks that he deserves the chance to get to know his son. If I was in his position, I would want to know. 

“But on the other hand,” she continued. “It was a one time thing, an accident, and he and Veronica are happy together. I love them both and I don’t want to ruin their lives.”

“Well for starters,” Kevin began, “he and Veronica have been having a really hard time. They’ve been on and off ever since you left. It’s like they love each other but Archie has been emotionally unavailable, or so Veronica says. It didn’t make sense to me at first, but it does now. 

“And secondly,” Kevin said, cutting Betty off as she attempted to respond, “this is not, like, whether or not he gave you HPV. This is his _son_. This little angel is genetically _half Archie_. You know Arch even better than I do; he’s so good, at his core. It would kill him if someday Oliver walked up to his door and was like ‘hey, I’m your mini-me, my mom is Betty Cooper - she thought I would ruin your life so she never told you about me.’” 

“When you put it like that, it makes me sound like a monster.”

“You're not a monster, Betty. But you know that in your heart, Archie deserves to know. Plus, think about Fred and Mary Andrews as Grandpa and Grandma. Adorbs.”

Betty smiled, “Yeah, I know, I’ve thought about it. The problem though Kev is that it’s not just about Archie and I. What about Jughead? And Veronica?”

Kevin looked at her intently, “It is what it is, Betty. There have been secrets, things happened. It’ll be hard, don’t get me wrong, but Oliver’s here now. He exists, and you can’t take that back. So everyone will just have to deal.” 

“Is that why you hunted me down? To convince me to come home in person?”Betty said with a smile, wiping more tears away.

“Partially,” Kevin admitted. “But also, you’ve been losing your touch, Betty. You kept calling from the same payphone. It wasn’t that hard to track its location.” 

Betty blushed, “Shit, yeah. I didn’t even think about that. How long have you known where I was?”

“Since May,” Kevin replied. 

“And you’re only coming here now? In November?”

“Yeah. I mean, I took my time, trying to see if you would resurface on your own. But the closer it got to Christmas, the more I realized you should really be home for your mom right now. So I took my dad’s truck, and here I am.”

“Wait, what do you mean about my mom? Why should I be home for her?”

“I knew you didn’t know,” Kevin muttered to himself. “Betty, I have something to tell you.”

“Okay…”

“It’s not good.”

“Spit it out, Kev.”

“Your mom has been living alone. Because…”

“ _Kevin_.”

“Okay, okay,” Kevin huffed. “Your mom is alone because your dad was arrested.”

“What the hell? For what?” Betty said in shock. 

“For murder. Betty...your hunch was right. Mr. Svenson wasn’t the real Black Hood - your dad was.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo! Chapter 7! 
> 
> I originally thought that this story might be 10 chapters, but now I'm thinking it will probably be more. Or maybe I should divide it in two? Not sure; to be determined. 
> 
> I've had a couple of comments about whether this is a Bughead or a Barchie fic. The answer: only time will tell. 
> 
> I will say, though; don't give up on our Serpent King just yet. I'll also say that I'm a big fan of happy endings.
> 
> Happy reading! Thank you all so much for your comments and kudos! <3

### CHAPTER 7

Kevin stayed with Betty for the rest of the week, knowing that she’d likely need a friend - a friend who knew what it was _really_ like to live in the chaos of Riverdale. 

He also spent some time bonding with - and getting majorly attached to - Oliver, who, at two months old, had a magnetic short of charm that only babies could have. Kevin was wrapped around the baby’s little finger.

Mary-Anne had taken to visiting more, too, while Kevin was still around, and the two had become fast friends, both quick witted and completely over the top. It made Betty smile to see them getting along so well, a piece of both her old life and her new one having the chance to mingle at little bit. Having them around was also a welcome distraction from the cycle of terror in her brain.

The past few days had made Betty’s mind into a minefield, a series of horrible thoughts about her father and the reliving of once happy memories, now in a negative light. It was Betty’s personal hell on earth, and she mentally pummeled herself for not doing more, for not pushing harder with her suspicions, and even for being Hal Cooper’s daughter in the first place. 

It wasn’t as if there was anything she could now, about any of it, but nonetheless, Betty continued to inwardly punish herself. It was as if she believed her punishment could somehow reverse all of the heinousness that had stemmed from her and her family. 

Try as she might, Betty couldn’t separate the mistakes she had made from the things Hal had done. It was obvious that her actions were not even comparable to her father’s, but she couldn’t shake this feeling that something inside her was fundamentally flawed and inherently bad. 

Was this what her life was destined to be like? A series of terrible events and a compulsive need to hurt the people she loved? 

The more she thought about it, the worse she felt. She hadn’t owned up to the things she had done, the mistakes she had made, instead choosing to run away from her problems. She had done the cowardly thing, and having this new found knowledge about her father made her feel compelled to do the “right” thing; if not for her friends, then to distance herself from any likeness to Hal. 

“Earth to Betty,” Kevin said, interrupting her train of thought. 

“Sorry, Kev, I got lost in my head again.”

“I know,” he said, reaching out to grab her hand, “it’s okay. I wasn’t talking about anything important, anyway, only asking if there were any gay guys in this little village of yours.”

Mary-Anne piped up, “Not here, but I know a place. In the next county.”

Betty laughed, “Our ‘village’ doesn’t have any openly gay guys that I know of. But Mary’s right, there are definitely places you could go. I have to ask though, Kev...what happened with you and Joaquin?”

“Oooooooh, Joaquin? Who's that? The drama, the intrigue,” Mary-Anne drawled, wiggling her eyebrows as she took a bite of a donut she’d brought up from downstairs.

“Only the hottest of all the Southside Serpents. And the gayest," Kevin answered, letting out a long, dramatic sigh. "To answer your question, Betty: I found out that in the beginning of our relationship, he was using me as a way to get protection from my dad and the sheriff’s department.” 

“Wow,” Mary-Anne said in surprise. 

“Yeah, I know,” said Kevin. “And I got over it...kind of. Anyway, we’ve been on and off for a really long time. Right now we’re off. Not sure when or if we’ll be ‘on’ again.”

“I’m really sorry to hear that, Kev,” Betty said with sympathy.

“Don’t be,” he replied with a shrug. “If it’s meant to work out, it will. It was really hard to be the Sheriff’s son and be mixed up with someone who was doing shady shit. I know not all Serpents are bad, but my dad still didn’t like it very much.”

“Yeah, northside parents have a tendency to be like that,” Betty said knowingly. “How are...the Serpents, anyway? We haven’t really talked about them much…”

“So you want to know how Jughead has been?” Kevin said, cutting to the chase. Mary-Anne chuckled from her corner of the sofa, grinning like the Cheshire Cat as she took another big bite of her donut.

Betty blushed and stared down at her hands in her lap, “I mean, I’d like to hear about everyone, truly. But...yeah. Jughead. How is he?”

“Well, I can’t say he’s doing super well, but you had to have expected that.”

Betty nodded, “Yeah, I mean, I figured he was probably angry.”

“To be honest, I think Jug went through the stages of grief when you left. He seems to have made a strange sort of peace with it - he can tolerate hearing your name, now - but he definitely struggled.”

Betty winced involuntarily at the idea of Jughead “tolerating hearing her name.” She had somewhat selfishly imagined him not caring that much and moving on fairly quickly, but deep down she knew that she created that vision to spare herself the immense guilt. 

“You okay, Betty?” Kevin asked as he noticed her reaction. 

“Yeah, I’m okay,” she assured him. “I guess I just hadn’t let myself think about him too much.” 

“Do you ever think about calling him?”

“Yeah. Not so much, anymore, but I did a lot in the beginning. I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.”

“You know, Betty," Mary-Anne chimed in. "On the topic of this mysterious Jughead character I’ve heard so much about, I’ve been thinking...are you sure that Oliver belongs to Archie?” 

“Mary...”

“Just hear me out, Betty - an objective opinion,” Mary-Anne began. “I know the answer seems pretty obvious, but do you know for sure? Isn’t there a small possibility that he belongs to Jughead?”

“I mean, yeah, there’s a chance. It seems unlikely, though. Have you seen the kid’s hair?”

Kevin leaned over, elbows on his knees, looking deep in thought, “Mary-Anne might actually have a point. I assumed, too, that the red hair meant he had to be an Andrews, but remember Betty, you have Blossom blood.”

Betty gave him a sideways look, “I think you might be reaching, Kev. And even if I was a carrier, don’t _both_ parents have to be carriers for the child to have red hair? Because red hair is recessive?”

“Who says that Jughead isn’t a carrier? I mean, his mom’s hair is kind of dark-auburn...ish. I don’t know, Betty, but just because it’s not the most obvious answer doesn’t mean it’s not the _right_ answer,” Kevin replied, looking to Mary-Anne for support. The other girl nodded her head in agreement.

“And also Oliver’s eyes!” Mary-Anne added.“They’re blue. Blue is also a recessive gene, I remember that much from bio.”

“And Archie doesn’t have blue eyes,” Kevin agreed. 

“All babies have blue eyes,” Betty replied, desperately trying to get her friends to drop it. She couldn’t let them give her false hope. 

“Yeah, when they’re first born. But I think they would have started to turn by now if they were going to,” Mary-Anne retorted. 

Betty shook her head, “This seems like a whole lot of wishful thinking with very little proof to back it up.”

Kevin looked at her pointedly, “There’s only one way to find out the truth, Elizabeth, and that’s to come home and ‘fess up and get a DNA test.”

“Kevin, you know I can’t do that…”

“I’ll come, too,” Mary-Anne piped up suddenly.

“What?” Betty replied in shock. 

“I said I’ll join you. I’ve always wanted to get out of here for a while, and this is a good chance to do that. 

“Plus,” she continued, preventing Betty from declining the offer, “if I come with you, you might feel a bit better about it. And if shit hits the fan, I can bring you back, no questions asked, and you wouldn’t have to drive a million hours on your own with an infant.” 

Kevin grinned smugly, knowing that they’d have Betty cornered soon enough. He’d been trying to convince her to come home the entire week, and while he felt like he was slowly wearing her down, he had begun to lose hope that he would convince her to come home. With Mary-Anne’s help, however, he knew his chances were better. 

It was only a matter of time. 

Betty was staring out the window behind the sofa, biting the side of her lip, “What if I ruin everything?”

“No offense intended, Betty, but I think you kind of already have,” Kevin said gently. 

Betty’s eyes filled with tears, “You’re right. I guess there’s not much left to lose.”

Kevin’s heart swelled with hope at Betty’s words. Was she finally going to give in and come home? 

Kevin and Mary-Anne waited looked on as Betty struggled to come to a decision. She had built a nice little life for herself and Oliver here in Big Point, but she knew in her heart that it wasn’t truly _home_. More than that, she was so tired of feeling like a fugitive, always wondering when she was going to be caught. And her mom needed her. It only made sense to go home. 

“Okay,” Betty whispered. “I’ll try it.”

“Oh my god Betty, really?!" Kevin exclaimed. 

"Yeah. I think I'd be angry with myself if I didn't at least try it."

"Betty, I am SO happy -"

“But Kevin,” Betty interrupted him, “I’m telling you, if things go really, really terribly, I’m turning right back around. Okay?”

He nodded furiously, “Yes, understood.”

“Good.” 

“Guess I should go quit our jobs for us,” Mary-Anne said as she walked towards the door. 

Betty stared at her in amused surprise, “What, like, right now?”

The older girl shrugged, “It’s now or never. Plus, it’s not like they won’t take us back when we come home...if we do.” She winked at Betty as she brushed past her and headed down the narrow staircase outside the apartment door. 

There was a short silence, neither Betty nor Kevin knowing what to say. 

“I guess...I should start packing,” Betty said quietly. 

Kevin hugged his friend, “I’ll be right in to help you.”

Betty hugged Kevin tight and then turned to walk into the bedroom. Once she was out of sight (and therefore out of earshot), Kevin got up quietly and made his way out the front door, stealthily closing it behind him as he stepped into the small hallway. 

Taking his phone out of his pocket, Kevin opened the keypad on his phone and dialled, a slight shake of nervous relief in his hands. He couldn’t believe he succeeded. She was really going to come home. 

“Hello?” came the voice from the other end of the line. 

“Hey, it’s me,” Kevin replied in a low voice. “I just wanted to let you know...it worked. I convinced her. Betty’s coming home.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *IMPORTANT NOTE*
> 
> After a lot of consideration, I've decided to go in somewhat of a different direction with this story. 
> 
> To be perfectly honest, I was having a really hard time deciding whether or not I wanted a Barchie end game or a Bughead end game. Every time I would decide, I'd end up changing my mind, flipping back and forth. 
> 
> SO, what I've decided is that AFTER THIS CHAPTER, this story will be "choose your own ending." 
> 
> Bughead fans, you'll follow the even-number chapters. 
> 
> Barchie fans (or anyone who's curious), you'll follow the odd-number chapters. 
> 
> This does mean that I won't be able to upload as frequently as I have been, but the way I look at it, it gives me the opportunity to not limit myself creatively AND it can make everyone happy. Including me. 
> 
> If this is not really your jam, I totally understand. I hope though that this can satisfy all of us! You can follow the chosen storyline and forget that the other one exists, if you like. 
> 
> I also just wanted to say thank you for the response to this story. I don't ever expect much when I post anything anywhere, but I want you to know that I appreciate every hit, every kudos, every comment, and every subscription very deeply. 
> 
> Okay, that's all. Happy reading!

### CHAPTER 8

Betty vividly remembered having a loaded gun pointed at her head and shovelling dirt onto her best friend’s casket, convinced that they were both about to die, but even that wasn’t as scary as the first time facing Alice Cooper post-secret baby.

It hadn’t been as bad as Betty expected, but that certainly didn’t mean it was good.

Alice had been furious. She had said all of things Betty expected her slightly unhinged mother to say: “why’d you have to turn out like Polly,” “why is this happening to me,” “what have you done, Elizabeth?”

Betty had taken it for a while, had let her mother berate her and chastise her relentlessly for nearly two hours. She’d had enough, however, when Alice asked her who the father was; when Betty told her the truth about Oliver’s paternity - that she didn’t know, and it was between Archie and Jughead - Alice had made a snarky remark.

“Great - my grandson’s father is either the village idiot or lowlife, Southside scum. He’s sure to turn out a winner,” she’d said.

Betty’s hand came up to her mother’s face before she could stop herself, slapping Alice hard across the cheek.

“Don’t ever say anything bad about Oliver, ever again,” she snarled at her mother. “Or you’ll be wishing that all I did was slap you.

“And if I were you, I’d remember that you were once a pregnant teenage piece of ‘trailer trash.’ The very definition of _southside scum_.”

“How _dare_ you -”

“How dare _I_ , Mom? How dare _you_?! I knew you’d be mad, but to say such terrible things about your own grandson...I didn’t think even you would be capable of that.” With that, Betty grabbed Oliver in her arms and headed for the front door.

“Betty, wait,” Alice said as she followed her daughter, “please don’t go.”

“Why on earth would I stay, Mom? To hear you call me a slut some more? To hear you insult my infant son? Thanks, but I’ll pass,” Betty replied as she turned on her heel.

“ _Please_ , stay,” Alice pleaded. “I’ve been without you for so long, please don’t go.”

“You should have thought about that before you implied my son was going to grow up to be scum.”

Betty could hear her mother still pleading with her to stay as she opened the door and walked onto the porch, a screaming Oliver in her arms.

“It’s okay, baby boy,” she said quietly into his hair. “It’s okay. Grandma is crazy. But we’re okay.”

Betty reached the bottom step of her mother’s front stairs when she overheard a group of male voices.

She turned to see where the voices were coming from and came face to face with the Southside Serpents - Archie and Jughead at the helm.

 

* * *

 

 

“Betty?” Jughead said.

“Oh my God,” Archie said beside him.

“Hey,” Betty replied nervously, bouncing Oliver gently on her chest to soothe him. The two boys stared at her in shock and awe, unsure if she was even real, let alone if the baby in her arms was really hers.

“Are you - are you...okay?” Archie said nervously, eyeing the little red headed boy in her arms with suspicion.

“I’m fine,” she said quickly as she started rushing past them.

“Wait, Betty,” Jughead said, moving to follow her.

Betty had already started walking in the direction of Kevin’s house when his car came around the corner.

Kevin pulled over quickly on the sidewalk, he and Mary-Anne both quickly jumping out and making their way to Betty.

“Are you okay?” Mary-Anne said worriedly.

“No,” Betty said, tears beginning to spill.

“Here, let me take him,” Mary-Anne reached her arms out to take the upset little boy from Betty’s arms.

“What’s going on, Betty?” Kevin asked with concern.

“I knew I shouldn’t have come here,” Betty said through her tears.

“Betty, what happened?” Kevin said with his hands on her shoulders.

“Looks like they happened,” Mary-Anne said, nodding in the direction of an approaching Jughead and Archie.

“For fuck’s sake,” Kevin muttered under his breath.

“Does somebody want to tell me what the fuck is going on here?” Jughead spat, glaring at Betty, Kevin, and Mary-Anne with a venomous gaze. His loud voice startled Oliver awake and he began to cry once more, reversing all of Mary-Anne’s effort.

“Stop, Jug, you’re scaring him,” Betty said, still crying. She took the baby from Mary-Anne’s arms and cradled him, adjusting his blanket and willing him to be quiet.

“Sorry, Betty,” Archie said on Jug’s behalf. “I think we all just want to get on the same page here. Would that be safe to say?”

Neither Betty nor Jughead and the chance to respond as they were interrupted then by a hysterical Alice running across the lawn, crying and still begging her daughter to stay.

“Betty, _please_! Please don’t go! I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it. I love him. You’re not a slut. Please don’t take my grandson away. I didn’t mean to call him Southside scum!”

Jughead looked at Betty in utter shock and disbelief, “Her _grandson_? Southside scum? Why would she call him that, Betty?”

Everyone was staring at her now with desperate looks on their faces; Kevin and Mary-Anne because they were afraid for Betty, and Archie and Jughead because they were both privately wondering if the child in Betty’s arms was theirs.

“Because he’s my son,” Betty replied, her expression an unlikely mixture of chagrin and defiance.

“And?” Jughead prompted. Kevin held his breath as he awaited Betty’s response.

“And...you might be his father.”

“ _Might_ be?” Jughead said angrily. Betty shot a glance at Archie, silently communicating the latest development in the story of their fling.

 _We’ve gone this far without talking about it_ , Betty thought sarcastically. _Why start now?_

“I’m surprised you didn’t tell him,” Betty said snarkily to Archie, a bitterness clutching her heart that took her completely by surprise.

“Tell me what?” Jughead said, looking back and forth between Archie’s and Betty’s faces as they stared each other down.

After a few moments of silence, Betty raised her chin, turning to Jughead as she said, “Archie and I slept together. Last year, while we were broken up.

He could also be the father.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For BUGHEAD - proceed to Chapter 10
> 
> For BARCHIE - proceed to Chapter 9


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am SO sorry this took so long! 
> 
> I got bumped up to full time hours at work and it has been consuming my life. While that's cool because money, it has seriously made it difficult to write anything. 
> 
> Here's the first chapter after the "fork in the road." The first couple of paragraphs in chapters 9 and 10 are the same, but from there, it gets very, very different. So if you notice inconsistencies, that's because they're inconsistent! Haha! 
> 
> Enjoy! I hope it won't be this long until my next upload but I can't make any promises. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this update!

### CHAPTER 9- BARCHIE

The next thing that Betty saw was Jughead’s fist - adorned with thick rings he hadn’t had before, she noticed - making hard contact with Archie’s face. 

In the next instant, they were both on the ground, swinging at one another. 

“Guys, fuck off,” Sweet Pea said, running to put himself between them. 

“Jughead, stop! Let’s just talk about this!” Archie said, arms in a defensive position. In the back of Betty’s mind, a small part of her wondered where he’d learned to fight like that. 

“Fuck you,” Jughead spat, still swinging. 

“Enough,” a man’s voice said, pulling their attention away from fighting. 

Fred Andrews approached them, pulling Archie away from his friend and then stepping between them. 

“What the hell is going on here, boys?” 

“Ask Archie,” Jughead said as he began to walk toward his motorcycle. The Serpents followed him, only Toni looking back to shoot Betty an icy glare. 

“Jug, please, don’t go yet,” Betty pleaded. 

Jughead glared at her, “I’m going, Betty. We can talk later.”

Betty’s tears continued; becoming a mother had wreaked havoc on her emotions. The traumatic situation didn’t help, either. 

Oliver was still screaming, the tension in the air palpable even for an infant. Betty felt like her body was going to collapse from the overwhelm. This was too much. 

Mary-Anne swooped in to save the day, as she often did, taking the baby from Betty’s arms and walking him gently back to Kevin’s car. Kevin ran forward to catch Betty as her legs began to give out, sinking down with her until she was resting on the concrete sidewalk. The tears kept coming, but wordlessly, now, as she stared into space. 

“Elizabeth, get up off the ground and come back inside,” Alice said, tugging on her daughter’s arm. 

“No,” Betty whispered, still staring into nothing. 

“Betty, come on, you can’t stay out here.”

“I know,” she whispered, “but I’m not going with you. Not yet.” 

“ _Betty_ -”

“She can stay with us for tonight,” Archie said, holding his face where Jughead’s rings had split the skin. “Right, Dad?”

“Of course, son,” Fred said in his fatherly way. “Betty’s welcome at our house anytime.”

“This is just ridiculous,” Alice said impatiently. 

“No disrespect, Mrs. Cooper, but I think maybe you’re the one who’s acting a bit ridiculous…” Kevin trailed off, rubbing the tops of Betty’s arms in hopes that the friction would keep her warm. 

“It’s okay, Mom,” Betty spoke up, interrupting her mother before she could say something nasty to Kevin. “I’ll come back with you tomorrow. But I think we need a night apart.” Seeming to come back into her body, she moved to get up, rubbing at her eyes and adjusting her clothes as she came back to a standing position. 

“Fine,” Alice said, her own eyes puffy from crying. “One night. But tomorrow I want you to come home, you and Oliver and even your friend.”

“Mary-Anne is okay staying with me, it’s really fine, Mrs. C,” Kevin insisted. 

“I’ll leave that for you all to decide,” she said curtly, in typical Alice fashion. “But I’ll see you tomorrow, Betty.” Alice turned then and walked back into the Cooper house without so much as a glance at Archie or Fred. 

“Come on, Betty, let’s go inside,” Archie said, putting his hand lightly on her back. 

“I need Oliver, first,” Betty said, subtly shrugging off his touch and approaching Kevin’s vehicle. 

“Oh, right,” Archie responded, still not used to the idea the Betty had a little human to look after. 

Mary-Anne got out of the car as she saw Betty approaching, a sleeping Oliver in her embrace. 

“Everything okay?” Mary-Anne asked with one eyebrow raised, clearly having already decided for herself that everything was most certainly _not_ okay. 

“It will be,” Betty said with her best attempt at a smile. She took Oliver from Mary-Anne, kissing his little ginger head as she held him tight. 

“If you’re sure, then…”

“I’m staying at Archie’s tonight.” 

Mary-Anne’s dark eyebrows shot up nearly into her hairline, “Oh. I see.”

“It’s not like that,” Betty insisted. “My mom is just batshit and I don’t want to stay there tonight. I did tell her I’d be back tomorrow, though. She invited you to stay, too.”

“I think the Keller house might be a little more stable, but if you need me, Blondie, you know I’ll be here bright and early.” 

Betty smiled warmly at her friend, “How about I’ll let you know tomorrow?”

“Sure thing,” Mary-Anne replied, giving her friend a kiss on the cheek and then kissing Oliver’s tiny head. “Goodnight, Ollie. See you tomorrow.” 

Kevin and Mary-Anne assured Betty that they’d have their phone ringers on all night in case she needed them before getting into the car and pulling away from Elm Street. In a haze, Betty found herself setting up her and Oliver’s belongings in the Andrews’ spare bedroom. Fred had taken it upon himself to go down to the basement and get some of Archie’s baby things out of storage. Grateful for his help, Betty put the baby down in what was once Archie’s crib, and, baby monitor in hand, she made her way downstairs to sit on the couch with her childhood best friend. 

She sat across from him, turned slightly so that her side was leaning on the couch, legs curled up under herself. He leaned back, one arm on the back of the couch, the other holding a bag of frozen peas to his quickly bruising face.

“There she is,” Archie said in a low voice, a small, warm smile forming on his lips. 

“Here I am…” Betty said, a confused smile on her face. 

“The real you, I mean,” Archie clarified. “The Betty we all know and love.”

Betty blushed in spite of herself, “You’re embarrassing me, Arch.”

“Sorry. It’s just good to see you again, Betty.” 

Betty subtly studied his face, taking note of the differences in his appearance from the last time she saw him. He was still the same Archie, big, brown puppy dog eyes, deep red hair, and a warm grin, but there were differences as well. He looked older now, slightly; not because of wrinkles or anything, but because of the dark circles under his eyes (that had nothing to do with the developing black eye) and a loss of innocence that Betty could sense but couldn’t quite figure out why. He was Archie, but he had changed. Betty quietly resolved to get to the bottom of it. 

“It’s good to see you, too, Arch,” she replied honestly. She got up then and made her way to the bathroom, grabbing the first aid kit from under the bathroom sink and making her way back to the living-room. 

“What are you doing?” Archie asked. 

“Cleaning you up, obviously,” she replied bluntly. 

“You don’t have to do that.”

Betty chuckled to herself, “Sure, sure. I’ll just let you bleed all over your dad’s couch - Lord knows you’re not going to look after it yourself.”

“You got me there,” Archie said, laughing tiredly. 

Betty took her time cleaning his cuts, not feeling the need to fill the silence with mindless chatter. Archie was one of the few people in the world who she felt completely comfortable just sitting with. 

“Ow,” Archie complained as she used an alcohol swab on the open wound. 

“Suck it up,” Betty said jokingly. 

“It stings though, Betts.”

“You should have thought about that before you went out and got yourself punched by a strong guy with rings on.”

“If I recall correctly, you got me punched,” Archie retorted with a grin. 

Betty’s face began to fall slightly, “Yeah, I guess I did. I’m sorry, Arch.” She knew that Archie hadn’t meant to hurt her feelings, but the memory of the fight made Betty’s chest fill with worry. 

“No, Betty, I’m sorry. I said that without thinking…”

“It’s fine, Archie. No big deal.”

Silence overtook them again, more awkward this time. They sat like that for what felt like an eternity before Archie broke in.

“I guess we have some things to talk about, huh?” he said with a look of chagrin.

“Yeah, I guess we do,” she nodded. “To be honest, I wasn’t sure we ever would talk about it.” 

Archie grimaced, “I’m sorry. I felt so weird about everything that happened, and you got back with Jug so quickly, I thought we were just ignoring it.” 

“It’s okay, Archie. I get it. I didn’t know how to talk about it either.” 

“If I had known, though, Betty, about the - the baby...”

“Stop,” Betty cut him off, holding her hands in front of her. “Stop. You didn’t know, because I didn’t tell anyone.”

“Am I his father?” Archie said, getting straight to the point. Betty did her best to hide her shock at his bluntness. He really had changed. 

“Honestly? I don’t know,” Betty replied, looking down at her hands to hide the embarrassed flush creeping up her neck and into her cheeks. “I slept with Jug really soon after we got back together.”

Archie nodded his understanding, “Yeah, I figured. It seems likely, though, doesn’t it? That I could be his dad? I mean, look at his hair.” 

Betty smiled quietly at the thought of her beautiful baby’s hair, “Yeah, I assumed the same thing. It’s probable.” Archie let out a long breath at her words, the acknowledgement of his suspicions hitting him like a dump truck. 

“However,” Betty continued after a short pause, “Mary-Anne and Kevin brought up a good point, that I’m technically a...Blossom. God, that still feels so strange to say. But in any case, that means that he could have gotten his hair from me.” 

“And there’s no way to know without a paternity test, right?”

“Right.” 

“So we get one,” Archie declared, turning his body toward Betty. 

“Archie, stop. You’re doing it again. The ‘hero’ thing. You don’t have to do this. I’ve been fine so far on my own, I don’t need anything from you. I’m okay with not knowing.”

“But I’m not,” Archie insisted. “Betty, if I have a son, I need to know. I want to be a part of his life. I want to help you take care of him, make sure he grows up knowing that his dad gives a shit about him. If he’s mine, I need to know.

“And regardless, Betty, of if he’s mine or not, you’ve been my best friend my whole life. I want to support you no matter what.”

“I really, really appreciate the thought, Archie, but what about Veronica? What about Jughead? What about college and music and all of the other things you wanted to do with your life? You’re not thinking this through.”

“Were _you_ thinking it through when you found out your were pregnant and skipped town?” he snapped, making Betty flinch slightly at his words. He immediately regretted saying it. 

“No, I guess I wasn’t,” she said softly. 

“I’m sorry, Betty, I shouldn’t have said that,” Archie apologized. “I guess what I’m trying to say...is that you and I may have made a baby. Clearly we didn’t mean to, but if he’s mine, I’m not going to blow off that responsibility. It takes two to tango, isn’t that what they say? Oliver didn’t come into existence by immaculate conception. Unless there’s something you’re leaving out.” He finished his mini-rant with a grin, teasing her like he had before everything went up in smoke. 

“Okay, I get your point, Arch. I appreciate it. Truly,” she replied. “Just...don’t work yourself up over this until you know for sure, okay? I don’t want you making big plans and changing the course of your future just to discover that you did it all for nothing.”

Archie sighed, “Okay. Deal.” 

Betty smiled, her eyelids drooping involuntarily, “I think maybe I should go to bed. It’s been a long day.” She stood up, putting all of the supplies that she hadn’t used back into the first aid kit. 

“I can only imagine,” Archie said, standing up with her. 

Betty paused for a moment, biting the side of her lip before looking Archie in the eye and saying, “Thank you. For everything. And...I’m sorry.” 

“Hey,” he replied putting his arms around her in a hug, “don’t be sorry. What’s done is done. We’ll get through it.” He kissed the side of her head and gave her a squeeze before releasing her. 

“Okay,” she smiled, tears obviously welling in her eyes again, “Goodnight, Archie.” She took the stairs then, slowly, making her way up to the guest room. 

“Goodnight, Betty,” he replied softly. 

Archie heard a noise coming from the kitchen, and when he looked, he made eye contact with his dad who was leaning in the door frame. 

“How much of that did you hear?” the younger Andrews asked his father. 

“All of it,” Fred replied. “Though I can’t say I wasn’t expecting it. I knew as soon as I saw him outside in Betty’s arms. That little boy looks just like you did at that age.” 

A lump formed in the Archie’s throat, “I’m freaking out, Dad.” 

“Me too, son,” his father replied. “But just like you told Betty, we’ll get through it. Together.” 

Archie smiled at his dad, closing the gap between them to wordlessly give him a hug. He thought about the infant sleeping upstairs, about how he himself could now be a father, and hoped with everything inside him that he would be half the father Fred Andrews was.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! I am so, so, so sorry this took so long to update! 
> 
> I've been working a looooooottttt and it has left me with hardly any time to write or even think about writing. 
> 
> This is an even numbered chapter, so it's the Bughead story line. The first few paragraphs are the same as chapter 9 but from there it gets very, very different. So if there are inconsistencies, it's on purpose! 
> 
> Okay, I hope you enjoy this update! I can't promise the next one will be much quicker but I'll try my best. 
> 
> Thanks for reading. <3

### CHAPTER 10 - BUGHEAD

The next thing that Betty saw was Jughead’s fist - adorned with thick rings he hadn’t worn before, she noticed - making hard contact with Archie’s face. 

In the next instant, they were both on the ground, swinging at one another. 

“Guys, fuck off,” Sweet Pea said, running to put himself between them. 

“Jughead, stop! Let’s just talk about this!” Archie said, arms in a defensive position. In the back of Betty’s mind, a small part of her wondered where he’d learned to fight like that. 

“Fuck you,” Jughead spat, still swinging. 

“ _Enough,_ ” a man’s voice said, pulling their attention away from fighting. 

Fred Andrews approached them, pulling Archie away from his friend and then stepping between them. 

“What the hell is going on here, boys?” 

“Ask Archie,” Jughead said as he began to walk toward his motorcycle. The Serpents followed him, only Toni looking back to shoot Betty an icy glare. 

“Jug, please, don’t go yet,” Betty pleaded. 

Jughead glared at her, “I’m going, Betty. We can talk later.”

“No, _please_ ,” Betty said, grabbing at the sleeve of his coat and feeling eerily like her mother. “Please, let me explain.”

“What is there to explain?”

“A _lot_ ,” she replied. “Please, just stay. Let’s work this out.” Tears were spilling down her face despite her efforts to contain them. She just couldn’t imagine letting Jughead walk away - not like this. 

He faltered, staring at her for what felt like an eternity. He looked torn as he studied her face, torn between his vicious anger and the part of his heart that would always be soft for his first love.

“Okay,” he said, gently removing her hand from his coat. “I’ll listen.”

“Jones, you can’t be serious,” said an incredulous Toni. She wasn’t being subtle about her distaste for Betty, but Betty found that she couldn’t return the hostility. She liked Toni. And, if roles were reversed, she knew that she herself would be just as protective as the pink haired girl before her. 

“It’s okay, Toni,” Jughead replied. “It has to happen anyway.” 

Archie approached them then, his face swelling at an alarmingly fast rate, “Jug, let’s just sit down and discuss this…”

“I’m not talking to you,” Jughead said with a venomous edge to his voice. 

“Jughead -”

“ _No_ ,” he replied sternly. “I’m not ready to talk to you. I can’t.”

“Can you just sit in the same room so I can explain to you what happened?” Betty said, willing him to agree. 

Jughead was quiet for a minute, his lips set in a hard line as he weighed the options. While he was quiet, Betty took the opportunity to look at him, really look at him for the first time since she’d seen him in this new life. 

Much of him was the same: the beautiful blue eyes, the dark curls flopping out from under his “crown,” and even the shadows under his eyes that Betty knew formed when he didn’t get enough sleep. 

There were differences, however, between the boy she used to know and the gang leader that stood before her. He had been hardened, and not just physically; it was plain to see that Jughead’s personality had taken on an edge, an edge not formed by teenage angst, but by the weary plight of adulthood. 

“Fine,” he replied, rolling his eyes. “I’ll sit in the same room. But that’s it.” 

Betty nodded in agreement, “That’s all I ask. Thank you, Jug.” 

Asking Mary-Anne to take care of Oliver, Betty made her way back to her mother’s living room, the two men trailing behind her. 

“Thank you, thank you, _thank you_ for coming back, Betty,” Alice said tearfully, reaching for Betty’s hand in the doorway. 

Betty yanked her hand away, her gaze icy, “I’m only here to talk to Archie and Jughead. It has nothing to do with you. Nothing.” She turned away from her mother, walking towards the couches in the Cooper living room and waiting for the boys to catch up. 

She was too tired to be nervous. By rights, her stomach should have been turning, her hands shaking, nails digging into her palms, but Betty couldn’t help but notice that she had passed the point of being able to care. This conversation needed to happen. It should’ve happened almost a year ago. She couldn’t change the past, but she could be honest about it. 

Archie arrived first, gazing wistfully at Betty’s face as he sat on the couch across from her. 

“Betty…” he began. 

“Shut it,” Betty snapped. “I don’t want to hear it.” Archie nodded in response, sitting on the sofa, elbows on his knees, head in his hands. 

Jughead came in not far behind him, looking like James Dean reincarnated. He was so beautiful, it hurt Betty’s heart to look at him. She could see he was angry, a vein in his neck sticking out ever so slightly, an indication to Betty that his jaw was clenched. He eyed both she and Archie disdainfully, almost suspiciously, and Betty wondered if he was truly angry or if his anger was simply a front to hide his anguish. 

She guessed the latter. 

“Okay, I’m here,” Jughead said irritatedly. “Let’s get this over with.” 

Betty ran her hands over her thighs nervously, not sure where to start. It was a straight up miracle that he had even agreed to have a conversation with them when this news was still so fresh. She’d been back in Riverdale approximately two hours and the world was already crumbling. She was finding it hard to believe that he even was willing to be in this room. Maybe he truly did hate her. 

“I know what it must seem like,” began Betty. 

“Like you cheated on me with my best friend?” Jughead said coldly, staring at her with narrowed eyes. 

“I know it must seem like that,” Betty said calmly. “But I _never_ cheated on you, Jug.” 

Jughead scoffed in response. 

“Seriously,” Betty insisted. “I swear to you, I never cheated on you. We had broken up.”

“What, like, three hours before?” Jughead said, turning his gaze away from her an shaking his head. 

“Dude, it was a mistake,” Archie interjected, his stress evident in his tone of voice. “We were hunting the Black Hood and I was heartbroken and Betty was heartbroken and our adrenaline got the better of us. That’s it. It wasn’t even romantic, just, like...nervous.” 

Betty stared at her redheaded friend for a moment, evaluating his comment. She had suspected that they felt similarly about what had transpired between them, but they had never actually talked about it, so she was never sure. 

“Betty?” Jughead questioned, waiting for her confirmation apprehensively. 

Betty nodded fervently, “Exactly what Archie said. It just...happened. To be honest, I was kind of afraid I was going to die. And that would’ve meant I’d die a virgin. And I just couldn’t handle all of the thoughts in my head, and the next thing I knew, it was over and  
I wished I could take it back.” 

“But you can’t take it back,” Jughead said quietly. “It happened, and now you’ve got a mini-Andrews to prove it.” He barked a humorless laugh, shaking his head at nothing. 

“I don’t know for sure that he’s Archie’s,” Betty said. 

Jughead rolled his eyes, “Right, like that kid isn’t a carbon copy of this idiot.” Archie shot him a glare, looking like he wanted to retort, but Betty shot him her best mama-bear stare, effectively silencing him. 

“I thought that, too, at first,” Betty said. “But then Kev pointed out to me that I have Blossom genes. And Blossoms are famous for red hair.” 

Jughead looked sideways at her, “Don’t give me false hope, Betty. Don’t tell me this if you know the truth.”

“I’m telling you both the truth right now,” Betty said earnestly. “I don’t know who his father is. And it has haunted me every day.”

The three of them sat in silence, each in their own little world, contemplating the situation in which they found themselves. Betty felt weak and a little lightheaded; it felt surreal, being in this room, having this conversation, a conversation she had convinced herself she’d never have. 

“I don’t think he’s mine,” Archie said after a while, breaking their collective trance. “I really don’t.” 

“And why is that, romeo?” Jughead said sarcastically. 

Ignoring him, Archie continued, “I know I used a condom. I know I did. I still use condoms with Veronica most of the time and I know for a fact she’s on the pill. I would never have gone without with a new person.”

Betty racked her brain, trying to remember. The memory was hazy, the trauma from the events that followed clouding her mind. She couldn’t be sure, but she thought Archie might be right. She distinctly remembered him pausing because it was in that moment that she briefly questioned what she was doing, before squashing the thought and drowning her fear and heartbreak in physical sensation, turning off her brain. 

“Condoms break, dumbass,” Jughead said harshly, unable to look at his friend. 

“Don’t you think I know that?” Archie threw back. “But what I’m saying is that there’s a very good chance that I’m not the kid’s father. We had sex the one time and I used protection. You guys definitely had sex more than once. Didn’t you?”

“Yeah,” Betty nodded. “And no condoms. I thought my pill would work. I was wrong.”

“I’m going to find a DNA lab,” Archie said suddenly, getting up to leave. 

“Wait, Archie -”

“No, Betty, I’m going now because the sooner I do it and we get this over with, the sooner we fix all of this I can stop wondering if I ruined your life; both of your lives.” Gallantly, he left through the front door, swinging it closed behind him before she could protest further. 

“Hero complex,” Jughead muttered, so low that Betty almost didn’t hear it. She had to stop herself from grinning; she had always loved the raven-haired boy’s quick wit and smart mouth. 

An awkward silence fell over them. Betty didn’t know how to break it, how to approach the situation without making it worse. She wanted to leap across the coffee table and straddle his lap, not in a sexual way, but to get as close as possible so she could hold him, to tell him she was sorry. She wanted to apologize for all of the hurt she had evidently caused, for all of the mistakes she couldn’t take back. She wanted to beg for his forgiveness. 

Instead, she stared at nothing, willing herself not to press her nails into her palms any harder. She had been getting pretty good at managing her old habit, but in times of stress it was nearly impossible to pay attention long enough to prevent it. 

“Why’d you do it, Betts?” Jughead asked softly, his demeanour softening ever so slightly. 

Betty’s heart flew into her throat, “I didn’t mean to, Juggie. I swear, I promise, I never, _ever_ meant for any of this to happen.”

“Then why did it?” his eyes were so full of emotional pain, it felt like a punch in the gut. 

“It was a mistake,” Betty said, frustratingly wiping away more tears. “I know it sounds stupid, but I didn’t want to die a virgin. I thought he was going to kill us.

“I didn’t tell you because I wanted to pretend it didn’t happen. Truly, that’s why. I rationalized why the first time, the time with Archie, didn’t count. I convinced myself that if I suppressed it, that it wouldn’t count and that you would be my first, like I wanted.” Betty bit her lip and she looked down at her hands in her lap. 

After a long pause, Jughead replied, “It’s still shit.”

“I know,” she whispered in response. 

“Do you really think there’s a chance he could be mine?” Jughead said quietly. 

Betty took a deep breath, “I didn’t think so at first, but the more I think about it...yeah. I do think there’s a chance. Truly.” 

Jughead nodded, leaning his chin on his fist. Betty’s heart hammered in her chest as she anticipated what he would say next. 

“You broke my heart, Betty, when you left,” he said, looking her in the eye. “And it broke again today.”

“I’m so, so, so sorry, Juggie. You have no idea.”

“I know you’re sorry. You wouldn’t have run away if you weren’t sorry.” 

Betty’s tears began to fall freely again. Unable to contain them, she just let them fall, sobbing soundlessly as her shoulders shook. 

“I should hate you,” Jughead said as he crossed the living room to sit on the couch beside her. 

“Why don’t you? I would, if I was you,” Betty said tearfully. 

“I don’t know,” he said honestly. “I can’t bring myself to hate you. I _want_ to be angry, or angri _er_ , anyway, but I’m selfishly just glad you’re back.”

Betty stared at him, unable to believe what she hearing. This couldn’t be this easy - could it? 

“What are you saying?” she asked, rubbing at her eyes. 

“I don’t know. But I don’t hate you,” he tried to grin half-heartedly. “But I do need time to process all of this.”

Betty nodded, “I understand. And just so you know, I don’t want anything from you, like, money or anything…”

Jughead held up a hand to stop her, “I know. Let’s not talk about that right now. Let’s leave it here and talk more when we’ve both had time to think.”

 

“Okay,” Betty whispered feebly. 

Jughead got up to leave, “I only ask one thing, Betty, before we see each other again.”

“What’s that?” she asked, trying to wrap her head around what was happening. 

“Let me know, if you decide to leave again,” he replied, a ghost of a smile on his lips. 

“Will do,” she replied, her heart flipping wildly as he walked out the door.


End file.
